MIAMI – It was 2006. LeBron James was less than halfway through his first stint in Cleveland. Reaching the playoffs for the first time, he was already a global star and well on his way to becoming the game’s best player.
At the age of 21, he scored an average of 30.2 points.
Fast forward 16 years. He left Cleveland, went to Miami, won two championships, got married, fathered three, went back to Cleveland, won another championship, went to Los Angeles, won a fourth championship with the Lakers , is still a huge star, still making conversation with the best players.
At the age of 37, he averaged 30.1 points.
James turns 38 on Friday, in the middle of his 20th season. No one in NBA history has averaged as many points as a 37-year-old. Not even close. Karl Malone averaged 23.2 points at that age, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 20.2, and Julius Erving averaged 20.2. There have been 150 players in NBA history who have played at 37; The average score of the other 149 was 8.3 points per game.
But here’s James just not slowing down. He’s averaged more points at 37 than he did at 22. Or at 23. Or at 24. Or at any other age in the last 16 years.
“I know how feverishly he works on his game,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. “Just being in the gym, seeing him in the gym…you know, he’s not just playing his own individual HORSE game. He’s actually working on the shots and he’s just ready to hit from any zone and any distance.”
James is on course to pass Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA career scoring record – they are separated by just 574 points – and he’s a prolific scorer like never before.
“I know how much I put into the game,” James said. “I know how much I’ve put into my body, into my mind and all those things. But I surprise myself sometimes, just on the level. If you look at the history of the game…not many seem to have played at this level for so many years and have so many miles and things on their resume.”
Not many. If any. At least not at 37.
During that lap around the sun, he not only averaged 30.1 points, but also 8.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists. Only six players that age averaged more rebounds, only four players — Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and John Stockton, four of the all-time greatest point guards — averaged more assists at 37.
At his current pace, James could catch Abdul-Jabbar for the goalscoring record by early February. And he has no intention of quitting playing anytime soon either, so that record could be way out of reach when James is actually done.
“He’s constantly working on his craft,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, the only coach to have won more than one championship with James. “So he will continue to develop new skills to add to his toolkit. This process does not get boring for him. You can say. He’s like a computer. When he sees another player working on something or doing something in-game, he says, “Oh, I want to try that.” … He never gets bored.”
However, losing has bored him.
The Lakers are 14-21 and without perennial all-star big-man Anthony Davis, who is out with a foot injury with no schedule for his return. They’re stuck near the bottom end of the NBA and need a big rally to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight season. The team has not won a playoff series since James and Davis led the Lakers to the 2020 NBA title; it went out in the first round in 2021 and didn’t make it in 2022.
James is averaging 27.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists this season. He’s never finished a season with such high averages in all three categories, not even in one of his four MVP seasons.
And right now it seems like it’s going for nothing.
“I don’t want to end my career at this level from a team perspective,” said James. “I still want to be able to fight for championships because I know what else I can bring to any ball club with the right pieces.”
He will be a 38-year-old All-Star when the game starts in February; Only five other players aged 38 or older were in this game. The Lakers are just three games away from the final play-in tournament spot, so it’s not like there’s no hope for this season.
But he’s not playing for All-Star longevity marks or a chance to make the playoffs or even break records. He doesn’t know how much longer he wants to play, but he knows what he still wants to do.
“I’m a winner. And I want to win,” James said. “I want to win and give myself a chance to win and still fight for championships. It’s always been my passion, my goal, ever since I was 18- year-old boy from Akron, Ohio, joined the League. I know it takes steps to get there. And once you get there, you know how to get there.
“Playing basketball at this level just to play basketball isn’t in my DNA. It’s not in my DNA anymore. So, we’ll see what happens. Let’s see how fresh my spirit stays in the years to come.”
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